These pages are dedicated to the red and white, merry and happy creatures, Welsh Springer Spaniels.
Welsh Springer Spaniels since 1986
Breeding since 1997
FKC's Vuolasvirta Award for meriterious breeding 2012
How it all began
I have been crazy about dogs my whole life. As a little girl I would use any chance I found to play with dogs. In the meanwhile I ended up nursing and taking care of other animals I could find outside as well - even bugs. I walked just about every dog I could find in the region with my friend, Minni, who's just as passionate about animals as I am. I suppose the most memorable dog was Peppi-collie.
During the Autumn in 1981 my family got our very first dog, immemorial Jimmy, a long haired tricolored collie of Taipe David (i. of Tape Dark Skipper e. Evidence). I started my actual hobby around dogs with Jimmy. We participated in obedience contests and even in several dog shows. However, the show-hobby didn't last all that long due to poor success.
" JIMMY " OF TAIPE DAVID |
Springerdays in Padasjoki 1984. |
I noticed Welsh springer spaniels for the first time in 1984 when I became friends with Sari and her two Welsh spaniels ("Jess", Fagottifanny and "Donna", Kans&Fin&N Mva Sprighly Ruby Red) while walking Jimmy. Most of all I was excited about the friendly and cheerful nature of the Welsh and shortly I began to appreciate the red and white beauty of the breed. I fell for these brisk goofs in no time and I knew that I had to get one as well! However, as you may have guessed it wasn't all that easy to convince my parents about it. Convincing my parents about getting Jimmy in the first place had been difficult enough after all. I spent a fair amount of time travelling in different dog shows all around Nordic countries dreaming about my own Welsh.
My dream finally came true in September 1986 when I got my first Welsh "Popa" Fin Mva Rocbee Kernel Goldheart (i. Kans&Fin&N Ch PMV-85-86 V-87-88 Delkens Turul e. Kans&Fin&N Ch Sprightly Ruby Red). I would have wanted a bitch puppy but because I already had Jimmy getting a male dog felt more reasonable. And so it was; gentlemen Jimmy and Popa lived happily ever after as best of friends, complete opposites to one another wonderfully complementing each other.
As my dog show career with Jimmy had been short and thorny, I was excited about Popa growing up into exhibition age. It was 10 months old when I took him to his first show (Joensuu International Dog Show, judge Ritva Raita) where it got SERT and was the 5th best of its breed. (It was still a time when males and bitches competed together in the same ROP class). It's probably not hard to guess, that my enthusiasm only grew! And it was a pleasure to show Popa off, even though he himself didn't care for dog shows, apparently it was boring to him. It managed to get 10 SERT's before becoming a champion at two years of age after passing the conformation test in his first attempt. He didn't reach international championship due to missing the foreign CACIB (just as we were planning to travel to the exhibition in Haaparanta, Sweden and Norway closed their borders!) Once we even managed to get lost and entered the hunting test (after training vigorously in our home forest) with the result of "Glorious 0". One could blame me and my happenings for visiting the tests only once, at the very least Popa would've been enthusiastic enough...
Traveling the world with Popa only made my enthusiasm for the breed grow, and little by little I began to dream of a bitch welsh and starting a kennel. But of course it was already clear that I couldn't stress my parents tolerance with any more dogs. In 1993 I moved to my first own home in Porvoo, and the intention was for Popa to come with me. But it wasn't as simple as that to seperate the old dogs, very quickly it became clear that Popa couldn't adapt to being a city dog having lived his whole life in a rural setting. And him missing Jimmy didn't make things any easier. So Popa moved back to my parents and Jimmy, where he lived the rest of his life spoiled and satisfied. Now I of course had the opportunity of my life to acquire the bitch puppy of my dreams, but again it wasn't so simple. I had to wait days and years before the next litter was born in Kennel Rocbee. I was personally there when the first Rocbee V-litter was born, I still remember those wonderful times like yesterday. Thus came to me the ever-so-wonderful "Tyyne" , Kans&Fin&Est Mva EstV-98 Rocbee Victoria Cross (i.Fin Ch Rocbee Private Soldier e. EuJV Rocbee Quibble Dibble), the primary bitch of my kennel and the mother of the first three Dirlian-litters. From that first litter I kept a captivating whisk-tailed Veera, Kans&Fin&Est Ch ESTV-02 Dirlian Moonlight Molly and from the second a bit stealthily Kirsti, FIN & RUS CH Dirlian Nice Surprise and it began to become evident that I was completely taken by the welsh breed...
Friends forever Jimmy and Popa |